Darkness fell. Silently, quietly, not wanting attention unlike the demanding light of dawn. Sigyn sat, waiting. Waiting as the seconds slowly ticked over, turning to minutes. Soon the minutes had become hours and the hours passed; the day melting away beneath her feet. The earth kept turning; the humans continued their small, numerous lives, yet Sigyn could not move.
Time was of little importance to her. She needn't fret about wasting it. The ice had taken control of her body, begging her to let them freeze her limbs. She stayed, not willing to fight. She had kept herself busy, distracted but it was tiresome. Waiting was not one of her skills she found rest and the rest found her.
The soft sound of knuckles gently beating on the wood of her door brought her out of her trance. She rose, not thinking, her eyes still glazed over, vacant.
A white hand closed around the handle, opening the door. The figure outside, dressed in a shock of green, smiled brightly though the darkness. At the sight of the figure a vacant smile haunted Sigyn's features. "Anna." The words tumbled from her lips, filling the silence.
"Hey, you." The girl pulled Sigyn into a hug who returned it robotically, thoughtlessly. "Is something wrong?" The words came in a whisper. She was suddenly weary of the dark inside the house. The stiff, vacancy of Sigyn's actions. How cold the house was. The chill of the shadows crept under her skin, causing the green jacket to be pulled closer.
"Wrong?" Sigyn questioned, her voice convincing none, not even the silence. "Why would anything be wrong?"
"You're home alone, at night, with no lights on and no heating. No, everything is completely fine. This is totally normal. I'm sure that I'm the weird one." Anna stepped in, flicking in the lights witches as she went, flooding the place with light.
Sigyn recoiled at the light. Her eyes flickered to the clock as they entered the living room. Suddenly, she realised how long she had waited, how much time had slipped from underneath her. The telephone lay silent, unmoving, not bringing her comfort.
"It has grown late." She whispered, still staring at the phone, wiling it to ring, to do something, anything.
A small laugh echoed through the room, "That's what happens at night, dear." Anna's smile faded soon enough. It was out of place in the cold of the room. Her eyes tracked Sigyn's as she sat down. "Who's going to call you?"
"Sorry?" Sigyn hadn't heard her friend. Her eyes still fixed on the phone in front of he, she continued to be frozen, not wanting to move forward, to let atrocity occur.
"Is it him?" The voice continued to question her, cautiously prodding her friend for an answer. She had seen her like this before. "He's done something, hasn't he? I'll kill him if he's hurt you."
"I am quite certain it cannot be his fault." She started, a shiver trailing her spine, "Loki never meant to hurt anyone. He is not of that temperament." Arms wrapped gently around her as Sigyn was pulled into a hug. She clung to the warmth, relishing anything that was not destructive.
"Who the hell is Loki?" The warm voice filled her ear, causing Sigyn to involuntarily let a giggle escape her lips.
"Language."
Anna pulled away, smiling brightly, rolling her eyes playfully, "Fine. Who on Earth is Loki? I thought you were seeing the blonde one? Sam? No, it was Steve? Steve? Weren't you together?"
"Loki is no more than an old friend." She sat down, folding herself onto the couch. "He has given me ample reason to worry. I do await a call from Steven though." A faint blush coloured her cheeks at the mention of his name.
"I see." Anna looked her over, rolling her eyes at Sigyn's blushing. "Have you eaten anything in the last few hours? There isn't much on you already with you skipping meals." Sigyn gently shook her head, squirming at the words. Delicate fingers gently brushed a few loose strands of hair behind her ears, suddenly aware of how she must appear.
Anna frowned again, trying not to roll her eyes. "All I'm saying is it's not healthy to not eat. So many girls would kill to look like you. Don't worry about that." She watched carefully as Sigyn continued to fiddle with her appearance. She sighed softly, "What can I get you to eat?"
"I am not hungry." Sigyn replied, distracted, staring at the telephone.
"We could go out? Take your mind off things." She was still curious who Loki could be and why Sigyn was so worried. If she distracted her enough soon she would start talking about it. It bothered her her friend was secretive. She only knew a shadow of who the real Sigyn was.
"Why are you here?" The voice accused. "You are not meant to be here tonight."
Another sigh, a sad one. Sigyn never knew when anyone wanted to help her. Everyone's actions seemed alien to her. "I'm trying to help you." Her voice was edgy, forcing the words through gritted teeth. Sometimes it made no sense why she wanted to help Sigyn. She was one of the best people she had met yet sometimes the oddest, most annoying person. She had moods. She was as permanent as the sky; one day a beautiful, blue wash of light and the next a suffocating, storm of grey.
"I do not need your help, thank you." Again, never letting anyone in. A thin sheet of glass lay between them, never letting anyone past the line.
"We could watch a movie?"
Silence. Her eyes were fixed on the telephone. Not moving, not seeing. She could not hear anything but the silence of the phone. Her eyes held a vacant look, her body frozen. The ice crawling beneath her skin.
Anna stood, almost shattering the silence. She looked at Sigyn, worry pulling her eyebrows together. Eventually, she broke the silence. It was unbearable, chilling, haunting, "I'm just going to make some food. You know, a watched pot never boils."
"Yes." The words were barely words, the ghost of her voice.
Time continued to tick over, forever moving, never frozen. Anna came with food, sitting a plate in front of Sigyn who still did not move. Now she had to distract herself. She couldn't worry about Sigyn; this was perfectly normal. The television was brought to life, filling the room with it's obnoxious presence. Hours passed and nothing moved.
"Sigyn, you really should…"
The telephone began to ring. At it's beckoning Sigyn leapt to life, again moving. She had awoken from her freeze in mere seconds, snatching at the phone.
"Hello?" Her voice radiated warmth, melting the ice inside. "Steven." A smile spread across her features, liveliness flooding from her. The conversation lulled on, intriguing Anna infinitely. Sigyn pretended to have not been waiting for him to call and Steven pretended to not know she had been waiting. They seemed happy. He promised to come home soon and she promised to worry about him. Eventually, he had to go. Time had escaped her yet again; it had all gone to fast, sliding through her fingers.
The smile still on her face, she nestled back into the couch. "He shall have to be at work for as long as they need him which could be quite some time. He cannot call often but that is fine." A blush tainted her ivory cheeks pink.
"What else did he tell you?" Anna asked, raising an eyebrow at her indiscreet blush.
A small giggle fell past her lips. She shook her head, hair gently falling around her, still living in the moments of her phone call. His voice filling her mind.
"If you don't tell I'll have to assume the worst." Anna smirked at her, desperately wanting to be let into Sigyn's blanketed world, "You really wouldn't like me at my worse." Sigyn glanced at her through the sheet of her golden hair. It was enough to realise that Anna completely meant what she said; it was certainly not something Sigyn would like.
The blush grew deeper; it's warmth melting the ice she knew would eventually come. "Steven was being rather charming is all." She whispered, not wanting to disturb the air. The words delicately hanging like an ornament on a Christmas Tree, filling the room with wonder.
After an exaggerated roll of her brown eyes Anna began to laugh, "So I was right?" The giggling continued, earning her a playful push from her friend. The last laugh died away, fading into the air around them. "I'm glad your better. I do worry about you sometimes."
Sigyn smiled at the words. It was nice to have someone care for her, not wanting her as a prize, a trophy to display. Someone who cared and would not burn everyone she knew doing so. The caring that was safe and sweet; a hug that let go rather than holding on forever, slowly suffocating. "You oughtn't to fret, Anna. I am of an age to look after myself without any help, especially from lunatics dressed in green." She smirked at her friend who merely shook her head.
"If you're all right then I'll get going." Sigyn now nodded, worried about what would happen once her friend would leave. The two walked to the door; their footsteps echoing through the empty house. Cold air seeped in as the door opened, causing a shiver to run down Sigyn's spine. "I promise I'll be here first thing in the morning." The shivering girl was pulled into a final, warm embrace and left to shiver in the dark hallway.
She ascended the stairs; the cold clouding her thinking. The shadows lured her in, throwing her into their darkness. She did not see the shadow at her window as she eventually crawled into bed, hiding underneath the sheets. The darkness lulled her to sleep, whispering promises of a time that was to come, a time of such glory, a time of beauty and shadows.